Seeing the Demon in the black robe, Evelyn immediately took two cautious steps back, her eyes filled with the highest level of alert!

  "It is a Commander Demon!"

  The middle-aged Demon before her was a full rank above the Umbra Demon leader, a powerful Commander Demon!

  A Commander Demon corresponds to a Senior Mage among human mages, creating an insurmountable chasm between Evelyn's current Intermediate Mage level and this opponent.

  "A Commander Demon! It is really a Commander Demon!"

  "This is over! We are completely done! We are all going to die here!"

  "Who could have imagined that such a powerful being was hiding in Umbra Gorge!"

  The young apprentices next to Allen turned pale, their legs weak, faces filled with despair as if all their strength had been drained in an instant.

  Allen, however, remained calm. He could not discern the differences between the magical levels and found their reactions exaggerated.

  "Everyone, stay calm! We have Senior Evelyn here. Nothing will happen!" Allen shouted.

  "It is just a battle across levels. For a genius, isn't this basic operation?"

  Hearing Allen, the apprentices were close to tears. A tall, thin apprentice spoke up with a trembling voice:

  "What nonsense are you talking about! There is a full rank difference! That is like comparing clouds and mud!"

  "Battle across levels! Even if ten Intermediate Mages join forces, they are no match for a Senior Mage!" Another girl clutched her clothes tightly, her voice shaking.

  Hearing the apprentices wail, the Umbra Demon leader across from them could not help but laugh loudly. The laugh was harsh and arrogant:

  "Evelyn! You are truly unlucky!"

  "Blake happened to be visiting my Umbra Gorge these past few days. I did not expect you to deliver yourself to us, giving our two brothers the credit!"

  "To capture a human prodigy like you and humiliate you properly, that is no small achievement!"

  "You hide in Radiant Magic Academy all day. We never had a chance to strike you, but now you ran out yourself. We cannot be blamed for this!"

  Evelyn's face darkened. She gripped her sword tightly, fully aware that nothing good would come of this encounter today.

  She turned to the apprentices behind her and said in a low voice,"Use the distraction to escape immediately! I will hold them off for a moment!"

  With those words, she raised her sword, her holy light surging, and charged resolutely at Blake!

  The apprentices behind her were stunned, frozen in place, too terrified to move.

  In that brief moment of hesitation, Evelyn had already engaged Blake in combat.

  Although her presence was formidable and her holy magic attacks were sharp and powerful, once the fight began in earnest, she realized she could not even block a single one of his moves!

  Blake simply reached out and struck Evelyn with a single palm. Shadow energy surged in his hand, solidifying into a tangible force.

  With just that one strike, Evelyn's body was sent flying, her holy light shield shattering instantly.

  At that moment, the apprentices behind her had not yet recovered from their shock, nor had they turned to flee. They could only watch in horror as the heavily injured Evelyn flew straight toward them.

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  Everyone froze in terror, realizing that death was inevitable. Even the thought of running vanished, leaving them paralyzed in place.

  Only Allen remained unfazed. Seeing Evelyn coming directly toward him, he stepped forward slightly and caught her body steadily.

  Evelyn's expression was listless. Her robe was soaked with crimson blood across the chest, and blood foamed at the corners of her mouth. She was clearly gravely wounded.

  Allen shook his head helplessly. She was a good person, risking everything to buy the others time to escape. The only problem was her magic was too weak, unable to withstand even a single strike from the opponent.

  "You said you would buy some time," he muttered quietly into Evelyn's ear."Your choice of words is way off. This is not‘some time,' this is an instant!"

  Evelyn clenched her teeth in anger, her chest rising and falling sharply, almost coughing up more blood.

  But with such severe injuries, she had no strength even to lift her hand, let alone argue back.

  She forced out a few words, her voice filled with humiliation and fury:"Do not touch me. Take your filthy hands off!"

  Allen looked down at his own hand. He had only gently supported her shoulder to prevent her from falling.

  "Come on! At a time like this, you're worried about that? You are almost dying!"

  Evelyn struggled to free herself from his support. The more she struggled, the more unstable her magic became. The pain in her wounds flared sharply, and she coughed up another mouthful of blood, her face growing even paler.

  At that moment, Blake stepped forward slowly, wearing a strange smile. His eyes roamed over Evelyn as he said,"Come with us. We will not take your life, but the suffering you endure will not be spared."

  Before he could finish, Allen interrupted with a raised hand:"Wait! Let us go! I can give you a treasured Secret Art scroll!"

  Blake's smile stiffened slightly at the sudden interruption, a flicker of displeasure crossing his expression, but he quickly returned to normal.

  He turned to Allen, eyes filled with amusement:"A Secret Art scroll? One of those Magic Apprentice level Secret Arts?"

  "I am very curious. I want to see this treasured Magic Apprentice Secret Art of yours."

  The Umbra Demons behind Blake erupted in mocking laughter, their voices dripping with ridicule.

  What they called a low-level Secret Art scroll might be a priceless treasure to some Freelance Mages.

  But to a Demon Tribe with ancient traditions, it was utterly worthless, not even worth propping up a table leg.

  Seeing Allen being openly mocked by the Shadow Creatures, the young apprentices behind him felt their faces flush with embarrassment, each silently cursing.

  "What idiot is spouting nonsense! What Secret Art scroll!"

  "He's just a Freelance Mage. What decent Secret Art could he possibly have? And he actually thinks he can trade it for our lives!"

  "This is over. Not only are we going to die at the hands of these Shadow Creatures, but we'll be humiliated in front of them first!"

  Allen, catching the sarcasm in Blake's words, quickly replied:

  "My Secret Art scroll can be learned by anyone, young or old, and it's especially effective against your Demon Tribe!"

  He slowly released Evelyn's shoulder and stood upright.

  In his mind, he calculated: it seemed that if he didn't give these Shadow Creatures a little shock from the Demon King, he really couldn't command the situation. This was a key opportunity to infiltrate Radiant Magic Academy, and he couldn't afford to miss it.

  Judging from the Shadow Creatures' reactions, they clearly had no way to recognize him directly, so he would have to give them a subtle hint they couldn't resist.

  Blake shot Allen a disdainful glance, his tone dripping with contempt:"Trash like you, not even a Junior Mage, can show what decent Secret Art?"

  As he spoke, he continued to approach Allen, completely ignoring him.

  But when he came within three steps, an indescribable pressure suddenly radiated from Allen.

  It was absolute domination, originating from the depths of his bloodline, as if the laws of heaven and earth themselves demanded obedience.

  Blake's knees suddenly gave way for no reason, and he collapsed to the ground, his forehead almost touching it.

  Startled by his own actions, Blake's pupils shrank. How had he suddenly knelt?

  As a Commander Demon, when had he ever endured such humiliation!

  Angry and ashamed, he forced his face into a mask of composure, stretching out his hands to the ground, attempting to struggle back to his feet.

  But to his horror, his legs felt as if they were nailed to the ground by invisible chains. No matter how he unleashed his shadow energy, they would not move an inch.

  The entire scene stunned everyone present. Both the human apprentices and the Shadow Creatures gaped in shock, utterly unable to comprehend what had just happened.

  "Why did this Commander Demon suddenly kneel?"

  "What is he doing? Is this some unique Demon Tribe way to humiliate an opponent?"

  "My god! This method is incredible!"

  Hearing the human apprentices' comments, the Umbra Demon leader behind Blake turned green with embarrassment, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

  He hurried forward, lowering his voice and shouting urgently:"Blake! What are you doing? How can you kneel to this human boy!"

  "This is disgraceful! It's just a Magic Apprentice Secret Art! It doesn't justify kneeling like this!"

  The Umbra Demon leader moved to Allen, intending to reach out and pull Blake up.

  But the next moment, he too felt that terrifying pressure emanating from Allen's bloodline. His legs went weak, and he knelt beside Blake, in an even more humiliating posture.